The Official Report known as “Hansard” is named after the family who established a reporting and publication system for the House of Commons in the early 19th century. Get the full story at www.commonwealth-hansard.org.

The Official Hansard Report of the Cayman Islands is an impartial, accurate and permanent record of parliamentary proceedings — the decisions that were taken, the policies adopted, and the passage of legislation. It is a chronicle of history. Although editorial corrections are allowed, no words may be added or removed to change the sense of what has been spoken. Care is taken to preserve each Member’s distinctive speaking style: this is referred to as the “verbatim rule.” Text is edited to filter out unnecessary wording to make the report generally more readable.

The production of Hansard is guided by Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice, and the rules or standing orders of Parliament.